What to do on the highest porn-use day of the year? (26-Dec-2023)

The day after Christmas (aka Boxing Day) is one of the biggest porn use days worldwide. 

When it's 27-Dec in Australia, it's still 26-Dec in the USA, so I used Scott’s Zoom account to run a Zoom meeting to help men feel connected and get non-sexual authentic connection with men, instead of turning to porn for soothing and false intimacy. I advertised it in: BrothersRoad.online, JiMbrothers.online, Straya Overcomers, and Scott promoted it in his groups.

I connected with a few JiM Alumni, but 3 other men in particular:

  1. A Jewish man who was married for 20 years from the New Jersey area, but never told his wife or anyone about his same sex sexual attraction to men. He barely showed his face. He felt so much fear about sharing with his wife or Rabbi as he expected he’d get immediately divorced and ostracised from his synagogue. I contacted a Jewish JiM Alumni I knew and he was able to get on the Zoom call and talk with him before he had to leave. I ask the Jewish JiM Alumni and Rich Wyler to pass on details of Rabbis or other Jews that he could talk to who would support him and not shame him or excommunicate him.

  2. A client of Scott’s from Ohio was struggling and he joined with Scott. He felt a lot of shame, but Scott helped him get regulated and grounded. Scott and another guy had to leave, and I continued talking with him. I ended up talking to him about _Journey Into Manhood_. I looked up the website to see where the JiM weekends are going to be held next year, and Virginia is the closest location, but the Friday would be his birthday. Today, he sent me a text:
         André, thank you for your time, prayer and kind words last night.
         I just wanted to let you know I signed up for the Brothers Road retreat 
         in April over my birthday. I’m excited and scared but I need to do it. 
         I thought I would let you know. Have a great day!!!
    This guy has also joined the 1-chapter/day Bible Reading plan that I’ve organised for the last few years.

  3. About 7pm I realised that it was midnight on the US West Coast and even later in the other 3 time zones, so I logged off the Zoom meeting. But a minute later, I saw a text from a guy new to Brothers Road in LA. I restarted the Zoom and he joined. He’d connected with a (ridiculously good looking) Brothers Road leader about 6 years ago, but hadn’t connected with the Brothers Road community. He has been getting looks and attention from gay men in the pool and gym, so decided he needed to actively do something about his same sex sexual attraction and joined BrotherRoad.online a week ago. I shared my story and he shared he was also sexually abused as a boy in Kindergarten, as a teenager, and 18. I also talked to him about the JiM weekend, and he’s very keen to do one. He shared his story with men and women. He is a Christian, so we prayed. I reached out to some other Brothers Road men, including a pastor, in the LA area to help him get connected. We talked gym and fitness, talked, and just connected on a number of levels.

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